Reinforced and protectively coated unit lumber package and method of forming the same



1952 J. E. STEWART 2,584,241 REINFORGED AND PROTECTIVELY COATED UNITLUMBER PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FORMING. THE SAME Filed Feb. 4, 1950 2SHEETS-SHEET 1 INVENTOR JAMES E STEWART ATTORNEYS 2,584,241 ER AME 2'SHEETS-SHEET 2 Feb. 5, 1 5 J. E. STEWART REINFORCED AND PROTECTIVELYCOATED UNIT LUMB PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE S Filed Feb. 4, 1950FIG.7

m R W5 W5 S E m J ATTORNEYS Patented Feb. 5, 1952 REINFORCED ANDPROTECTIVELY COATED UNIT LUMBER PACKAGE AND METHOD OF FORMING THE SAMEJames Elliott Stewart, Minneapolis, Minn.

Application February 4, 1950, Serial No. 142,441

2 Claims.

My invention relates to a unit package of lumber or analogous strip orsheet material, reinforced and protectively coated for shipment and foroutside storage.

This application discloses certain improvements and added features inrelation to the structures and methods disclosed in my co-pendingapplication, Serial Number 91,654 filed May 6, 1949, now matured intoPatent No. 2,517,939, patented August 8, 1950. g

It is an object of my present invention to provide a unit package oflumber or other superimposed analogous material bound and reinforced andprotected from dirt and moisture through the combination of a preferablystrippable flexible coating and a minimum amount of binding strips ortape whereby units may 'be shipped without injury and with completeprotection from dirt and moisture upon fiat or gondola type cars andwhereby the units may be stored outdoors indefinitely without anysubstantial change in the product as originally milled and dried.

Another object is the provision of a simple, commercially successfulmethod for forming a protectively coated and reinforced unit package oflumber and the like at minimum cost.

A further object is the provision of a bound, reinforced andprotectively coated package unit of lumber or the like which willwithstand jolts and shaking in shipment without displacement ofv form orinjury to the protective covering and which embodies severalimprovements in structure and method of production upon the unit andmethod disclosed in my co-pending application, Serial Number 91,654.

More specifically, it is an object of my present invention to provide aneconomical and commercially successful method for reinforcing andprotectively coating units of lumber and analogous material forshipment, handling and storage which lends itself to packages or unitsmade up from boards varying in width and thickness, resulting in atleast the greater portions of the sides, ends and top of the packagebeing .protectively covered by a strippable coating of tough, flexible,plastic material which serves to bond and tie the outermost boards orstrips of the unit together and to cooperate with a minimum ofencircling binding elements to constitute a very strong, reinforcedunit.

A still further object is the provision of an improved package unit forlumber or analogous material wherein closely cooperating structureserves to bind the board of the unit together,-

protectively coat the same to exclude moisture and dirt and bind andengage the boards in the package to prevent longitudinal orlateraldisplacement thereof in shipment upon flat type railroad cars.

These and other objects and advantages of my invention will be moreapparent from the following description made in connection with theaccompanying drawings wherein like reference characters refer to similarparts throughout the several views and in which:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view showing an embodiment of my invention inthe form of a compacted, reinforced lumber unit protectively coated forresisting wear in shipment and for excluding dirt and moisture, someportions of the protective coating being broken away;

Fig. 2 is a perspective view of a somewhat diiferent form of theinvention wherein multilayer sections of the unit are prescaled anddisposed in longitudinally ofiset relations at the ends of the unit;

Fig. 3 is a perspective view of a somewhat modified form of unit whereinprotective end covering caps of inexpensive material are employed incombination with a spray coating and minimum of encircling tapes;

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary, perspective view showing still another form ofmy unit package with portions of the coating layers removed;

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary, perspective view illustrating my method andstructure as applied to a unit of lumber made up of boards of variouswidths;

Fig. 6 is a somewhat diagrammatical end view illustrating apparatus forcompressing and compacting the stack or unit of lumber prior toapplication of binding tape; and v Fig. 7 is a fragmentary,perspective,'end view showing still another form of my unit packagewherein the top and side walls only of the unit are compressed andcovered with a reinforcing and protective spray coating.

In carrying out my invention, I form at the mill, place of production orlumber kiln, a preferably prescaled, compact load unit or stack, asshown in Figs. 1 to 5 of the drawings, comprising a multiplicity ofsuperimposed layers of lumber or other analogous material, each layercomprising a plurality of pieces disposed in compact, side by siderelation.

In most instances, as shown in Figs. 1 to 4, the

lumber or other pieces of material is formed orpiled into a rectangularparallelopiped unit havr 3 parallel relation with the external edges ofthe boards of each side in substantially common vertical planes.

In the unit structure of Fig. 1, the many boards or pieces comprisingthe unit are of equal length although perhaps of several differentwidths and thicknesses but are compactly piled and arranged to have the.ends of the unit disposed substantially in common planes perpendicularto the side walls and top of the unit. In many instances I refer toutilize stickers" or separation strips interposed between divisions ofthe unit stack and extending transversely across the width thereof belowthe division above. Thus, in the form of the invention illustrated inFig. 1, two sets of spaced stickers strips or spacer elements S areemployed, dividing the over-all unit into three divisions D4, D4 and D-3respectively and as shown, being transversely disposed of the unitstack, some distance inwardly from the outer ends ther o he w et 21 sicke S a sh i Fig. 1 being vertically aligned.

I Fis- 2 he ni s ck c ns ru ed an ranged generally in the manner of thestack or package unit shown in Figs. 1 to 4 of my copending applicationwith multielayer divisions D of the stack vertically aligned at theirlongitudinal, edges but alternately offset at the ends thereof to definetransverse channels C to. facilitate subsequent separation, division andhandling of the unit by lit-t truck.- and to further facilitate loadingof the entire. unit or package by lift truck or other equivalent.apparatus.

In the structure shown in Fig. 2, I employ a plurality of stickers orspacer elements S, as how 't o o aid s ck r be n transversely applied inthe lower, intermediate portion of the stack spaced some distance fromthe e ds er q a d a Sin e t c e being transse pp ie t the c ntra u peportion of the stack to, produce separation of divisions of the stack;and as will be later tully described, to produce in combination withbinding straps and a binding and protective cover, a very efficient ampng med m f pr v nti n itudinal and lateral displacement of theindividual boards or elements during transportation of the unit.

In t te m. of nit. a k shown is- 3 the individual boards are veryuniform length t ck e nd are r n ed p l i c pact, superimposed layerswith ends and sides of the unit parallel disposed in substantiallycommon vertical planes. In this form, as shown, no stickers are employedas in the form shown in Figs. 1 and 2.

The stack or unit pile of lumber shown in Fig. 5 is compactly arrangedin similar manner to. that shown in Fig. 3 but as illustrated, comprisessuccessive layers of boards varying in Width.

In all forms of; the invention, the unit stack or pile is very compactlyformed with the in-' dividual pieces of the successive layers beingcompacted in side by side relation and with the multi-ply, over-allthickness of the: stack being preferably compacted or compressed priorto initial binding of the unit.

In Fig. 6 an apparatus is diagrammatically illustrated which may beutilized to apply con1- pression to the sides and top of the stack orpile before application of the binding tapes. As shown, this apparatusincludes an upper hydraulic compressormechanism CM having an ated. fl t.compr si h ad H whifih i adapted to engage the top of a unit stack andapply pressure downwardly from a rigid anchoring base B. Fig.6 alsoillustrates diagrammatically an upstanding, stationary and angularlyadjustable resistance bed R with which is cooperatively associated, ahydraulically actuated plunger P having affixed thereto an upstanding,angularly adjustable pressure head X for engaging against the greaterportion of the length of the unit stack to apply pressure horizontallyof the stack in the direction of the fixed resistance wall R.

In the production of my reinforced and protected lumber unit, two ormore circumferentially extending, light, preferably metallic bindingtapes T are applied, tightened and secured after the unit stack has beenformed, arranged and compacted. It is to be understood that actualcompression apparatus is not required in all instances in carrying outmy method. Metallic tapes T surround the top, bottom and side walls ofthe unit and preferably, in every instance, a pair of said tapes areutilized, disposed inwardly a relatively short distance (varying fromsix inches to two and one half feet) from the ends of the unit stack,The metal tapes or other binding elements T are tightly drawn to furthercompress the unit structure and where stickers or separator strips S areutilized, serve to deflect the positions of the boards or other sheetmaterial in the upper and lower divisions of the unit, above and belowthe sets of separator strips, distorting the straight line relationshipof the boards and thereby producing a clamping action and frictional bini g effect which materially improves the stability of the package and isan important factor in preventing longitudinal as well as lateral,displacement of the layers and individual boards due to intense jars andjolts during transportation 01"- the package.

In Fig. 1, three binding tapes are employed although only two areusually necessary because of the cooperative binding effect of myencysting layer or coating. The central binding tape as shown in Fig. 1,when fully tightened and secured, further distorts, the straight lineextension of the individual layers and boards and furnishes additionalfrictional resistance between the boards. to overcome the effects ofjolts in transportation.

After the stack has been formed, compacted and bound with the minimumnumber of tapes '1, the units asshown in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5 are nextspray coated with a flexible, moisture-proof, oil-proof and dust-proofcoating of a materialwhich will withstand wear in transit, handling andstorage but which preferably may be torn off or stripped in sections,generally along desired lines of fracture. In the form of unit packageillustrated in Figs. 1, 2, 4 and 5, all walls and portions of thepackage with the exception of the bottom, are coated preferably by spraymethod with a water-proof, somewhat elastic and fire resistantcomposition which will not bemateriallyabsorbedby the lumber orby bond-.ing thereto. Various compositions or solutions capable of beingeffectively. sprayed in conven-. tional spray guns may be employed, suchas a composition containing vinyl copolymer resins. Said resins consistof: vinyl chloride and vinyl acetate of high strength- These materialsare used with a'suitableplasticizer such as trioresyl phosphate dicotylp'hthalate or chlorinated parafiin or a com ination thereof. The vinylresins,

and plesticizer re put; in o 'asuitab e olution.

such as acetone, toluene, methylethyl ketone or combinations of two ormore of said solvents. Other coatings utilizing latex in acetate withvarious pigments may also be used, although plastic coatings arepreferred.

In applying the coating by spray method, the

material is first preferably in the form of the invention of Figs. 1, 2and 5 sprayed to form a web coating crossing the ends of the boards, thelongitudinal edges and the longitudinal interstices throughout thepackage, whereafter the spraying is continued over the web coating toform a substantially uniform, encysting-covering, bonded to the outersurfaces of the boards ofthe unit to the extent of securing thesuccessive layers and surfaces of the boards, together into a unitarypackage but nevertheless, because of the plastic composition, not beingmaterially absorbed by the pores and grain of the material encysted. Theprotective coating Z sprayed upon the compacted unit stack boundtogether by the tapes T serves as an important binding medium andreinforcement to the package while in addition, constitutes a continuousprotective covering to exclude moisture, air, oil and dust and tocushion the outer surfaces of the material against wear and damage.

In the package unit illustrated in Fig. 3, the rectangular ends of thestack bound by the two tapes 'I are covered with inexpensive cap mem--It is of course to be understood that in all cases,

my protective and reinforcing coatings are sprayed over the tapes T inapplication to the units.

In Fig. 4 in place of initial web spraying or coating of the top, sidesand ends of the unit stack, I provide an initial sheetcovering F offlexible, foraminous material such as tough paper or fabric which may beinitially folded over and adhered at points to the external surfaces ofthe stack. Thereafter, the top, side and end walls of the unit arecoated, preferably by spraying with a plastic coating 2-2 of the typeherein described. In this form of the invention, transverse applicationof ,the spray nozzles and application of coating material is notnecessary with the result that less plastic material is required than inthe coatings illustrated in Figs. 1, 2 and 5. Sufficient of the plasticmaterial works through the apertures of the foraminous, flexiblecovering material F to adequately adhere the outer coating to the boardsor material while the paper or fibrous sheet F acts as additionalreinforcing binding for the package.

In Fig. 7, a less expensive but highly efficient package covering andmethod is illustrated, particularly adapted for commercial use instandardized lumber units. In this form of the invention, theparallelopiped stack is formed and is then compressed and binding tapes'1 applied as'in the forms of the invention previously described. Acontinuous spray coating Z-@ of preferably plastic materials of thenature described herein, is applied to the top and preferably the fullheight of the sides covering the tapes T and bonding together thelongitudinal edges and top surfaces of the boards directly coveredthereby.

The unit package so formed preferably embodying the stackers or spacersS utilized in the form illustrated in Figs. 1 and 2 has demonstratedexcellent success in withstanding the jolts and friction oftransportation and adequately protects thelumber contained in thepackage from injury by dirt, moisture and grease.

In Fig. 5, a somewhat different embodiment of my invention is applied toa unit stack or package made up of a multiplicity of boards varying inwidths. In this form of the invention, the successive layersof boardsdisposed in side by side relation are formed to make up a unit oftrapezoid cross section, symmetrically tapering from the longitudinalsides at the bottom to the top.- This structure enables boards of oddwidths to be compactly for-med into a stack unit which adapts itself toreceive the reinforcing, protective coating Z-3 which is spray coatedupon the sides, top and end walls of the unit in the manner previouslydescribed with reference to the forms of the invention shown in Figs. 1and 2. With this form of the invention, the material may be initiallycompressed by such apparatus as that shown in Fig. 6 before applicationof the transversely disposed binding tapes T whereafter the spraycoating is applied.

I have discovered that with spray coating of the type described, anunexpected efficiency or reinforcement and binding of the assembledboards or other analogous material is obtained. The coating neverthelesslends itself to being readily stripped either longitudinally ortransversely of the package. With the reinforcement and retainingfeatures of my protective coating a very. minimum amountof binding isrequired. in most packages varying in length from 10 to 16 feet, onlytwo binding tapes inset a short distance from the ends of the stack unitare necessary. In 18, to 20 feet lengths or over, three binding tapesare recommended.

I have also discovered :that the use of the stickers in combination withthe protective binding coating and tapes provides a package which willresist all tendency of longitudinal or lateraldisplacement of theindividual boards and layers during transportation.

From the foregoing description, it will be seen that I have provided atlow cost, a highly efiicient unit package for shipment and storage oflumber or other analogous sheet material capable of being loaded andunloaded by lift truck or other package-engaging means and adapted toprotect the contents against moisture, oil and dirt duringtransportation and storage.

The staggered divisional end structure of my unitary package providesfor channels which may be readily engaged by lifting elements such asthe tines of a lift truck to enable the package to be handled bodily asa unit in loading, unloading and filling orders at the retail yards.

It will further be seen that I have provided an improved andcommercially successful method for forming a protectively coated andreinforced unit package of lumber and the like at minimum cost.

It will of course be understood that various changes may be made in theform, details, arrangement and proportions of the parts withoutdeparting from the scope of my invention.

What I claim is:

1. A unit package of lumber reinforced and protectively coated foroutside storage and shipment comprising a multiplicity of boardsarranged in superimposed layers providing divisions each having athickness equal to the aggregate thickness of a plurality of boards anda width equal to the aggregate width of a lurality of boards, the endsof a substantial number of boards lying substantially ina pair ofopposed planes perpendicular to the planes of the longitudinal edges ofthe boards, at least one spacer element disposed transversely of andbetween each pair of' vertical divisions of said unit, each spacerelement being of elongated narrow form having a length substantiallyequal to the width of said unit and being positioned inwardly from theends of said boardsancl in substantially parallel relation to the planeof the ends of said boards for engagement with all of the boards havingsurfaces exposed between the vertical divisions, said unit having aminimum of rela tively non-stretchable binding strips securedcircumferentially of the length of the unit in such relation to saidspacer elements as to cant the boards of the divisions about the spacerele ments and distort the boards from their straightline position,saidbinding strips being disposed about the exposed surfaces of the top,side and bottom boards of the unit for exerting both lateral andvertical compressiveforces on the unit, a protective binding coveringover at least the entire top and. sides of the unit, said: coveringbeing a continuous coating of tough flexible moisture-proof material ofa nature to bond to the entire outer surfaces of the boards as well asbridge the spaces formed between the boards, the distortion of theboards: from their straightnumber of boards lying substantially in apair of opposed planes perpendicular to the' planes or the longitudinaledges of the boards, at least one spacer element disposed transverselyof and between each pair of vertical divisions of said unit, each spacerelement being" of elongated narrow width having a length substantiauyequal to the Width of said unit and bing positioned in- Wardly from theends of said boards and in substantialls parallel relation to the planeof the ends of said boards for engagementwith all of the boards havingsurfaces exposed between the vertical divisions, said unit having aminimum of relativlji non-stretchable, flexible binding strips securedcircumferntiall'y' of the length of said unit in such relation to saidspacer elements as to cant the boards of the divisions about the spacerelements and distort the boards from their Straight line position, saidbinding strips being in direct contact with the exposed surfaces of thetop, side and bottom boards of the unit for exerting both lateral andvertical compressive forces on the unit, a spray-coated covering over atleast the entire top and sides of the unit, said covering being acontinuous coating of tough, flexible moisture-proof material of anature to bond to the entire outer surfaces of the boards as well asbridge the spaces formed b the spacer elements, the distortion of theboards from their straight-line position increasing the degree offrictional contact between the boards, and said covering resistinrelative movement between the boards of the unit and supplementing thebinding strips in reinforcing the unit, said covering nevertheless beingstrippable from said unit.

I JAMES ELLIOTT SIEVVART.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file ofthis patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,574,885 Henne Mar 2, 19261,600,720 Denison Sept. 2l, 192-3 1,616,838 Wright et a1 Feb. 8, 192'!1,785,360 Payzant Dec. 18, 1930 1,849,692 Rornine Mar. 15, 19321,900,930 Dittmar Mar. 14,. 1933 K915138 11 Gifford Oct. 9, 19342,428,861" Waring et al oct. 14, 1947 2,441,227 Pi neles May 11, 1948

